Giving of Thanks
This weekend, our nation celebrated the holiday of Thanksgiving. While there is a great deal of history enmeshed in this holiday and its origins--some honorable, some shameful--it is the spirit of the holiday upon which we should focus.
Originally, the concept of a Day of Thanksgiving revolved around agricultural concerns, the advances of modern society have pulled us away from that aspect and directed us toward a wider and more far-reaching interpretation.
In the United States--as well as in Canada and the nations of the European Union--we reap the benefits of a society which is rich in the benefits of industry, technology, and agriculture. We have access to good food, health care, housing, education, and a balanced legal system. These are things which we take for granted.
But these are things for which we should give our utmost thanks.
In many parts of the world--even within our own societies--there are those who don't have these things. Here in the US, we live in a nation of disparities. While most of us dream about a bigger house, a better car, a fancier television set, there are those who still dream of decent meal, presentable clothes, and the most basic health care for their children.
Every society will have its extremes. There will always be the very rich, and there will always be the very poor. These things can't be changed. It has been tried--by Lenin, Mao, and Castro--and it has failed. While history strives to demonize these men, it must be remembered that they fought for the noblest of goals--equality and respect for every citizen. This is a goal which every democratic society also strives. Their failure wasn't in their dreams, it was in their methods. Equality can not be imposed from above, it must be embraced from within.
Where democracy has shown its superiority is in its perseverence: Nature rewards the strong; this is as true with cultures as it is with animals. Our nation was born of the strength and conviction of the leaders and soldiers of the Revolution. Our nation has grown upon the strength of the people. Despite our recent failures and insults, our nation continues to be strong and honorable.
I know that not everyone hearing these words agrees with my stance or my policies. And it is for exactly this reason that I am grateful. I thank whatever god there may be, that we live in a nation in which you are allowed to disagree with me. I thank God that we live in a nation where you have the right to look me in the eye and say "Mr. President, you are wrong."
I am, by no means, blind to the failures and injustices of our nation. I admit that we have a very long way to go before we achieve perfection. The great author Robert Heinlein once said "Democracy is the worst form of Government, except for all the rest."
Our nation, our government, our way of life is not perfect. It is, in fact, greatly and powerfully flawed. But we--each and every one of us--hold the power to change the course of our nation. That, above all else, is what make our nation great. Over 200 years ago, a few brave men stood forth and laid down the rules which created our nation. Since that time, the spirit of those men has swept across the globe, becoming the beacon by which the dreams of a hundred nations navigate.
While others have lived through revolutions, coups, and tyrannies, our nation has continued. We have withstood disasters, upheavals, and even civil war. And still we continue.
I stand before you today able to express my deepest gratitude to those brave men and women who defied history and tyranny to create this proud nation. And I am deeply grateful not only for those who support my vision for this nation, but for the protections that allow people to speak out against me. It is those voices which keep me honest. And somewhere between their passion and my own is the reality of our world. And I am truly thankful that neither of us has the power to enforce our will upon the world.
Imported from the Buzz
Originally, the concept of a Day of Thanksgiving revolved around agricultural concerns, the advances of modern society have pulled us away from that aspect and directed us toward a wider and more far-reaching interpretation.
In the United States--as well as in Canada and the nations of the European Union--we reap the benefits of a society which is rich in the benefits of industry, technology, and agriculture. We have access to good food, health care, housing, education, and a balanced legal system. These are things which we take for granted.
But these are things for which we should give our utmost thanks.
In many parts of the world--even within our own societies--there are those who don't have these things. Here in the US, we live in a nation of disparities. While most of us dream about a bigger house, a better car, a fancier television set, there are those who still dream of decent meal, presentable clothes, and the most basic health care for their children.
Every society will have its extremes. There will always be the very rich, and there will always be the very poor. These things can't be changed. It has been tried--by Lenin, Mao, and Castro--and it has failed. While history strives to demonize these men, it must be remembered that they fought for the noblest of goals--equality and respect for every citizen. This is a goal which every democratic society also strives. Their failure wasn't in their dreams, it was in their methods. Equality can not be imposed from above, it must be embraced from within.
Where democracy has shown its superiority is in its perseverence: Nature rewards the strong; this is as true with cultures as it is with animals. Our nation was born of the strength and conviction of the leaders and soldiers of the Revolution. Our nation has grown upon the strength of the people. Despite our recent failures and insults, our nation continues to be strong and honorable.
I know that not everyone hearing these words agrees with my stance or my policies. And it is for exactly this reason that I am grateful. I thank whatever god there may be, that we live in a nation in which you are allowed to disagree with me. I thank God that we live in a nation where you have the right to look me in the eye and say "Mr. President, you are wrong."
I am, by no means, blind to the failures and injustices of our nation. I admit that we have a very long way to go before we achieve perfection. The great author Robert Heinlein once said "Democracy is the worst form of Government, except for all the rest."
Our nation, our government, our way of life is not perfect. It is, in fact, greatly and powerfully flawed. But we--each and every one of us--hold the power to change the course of our nation. That, above all else, is what make our nation great. Over 200 years ago, a few brave men stood forth and laid down the rules which created our nation. Since that time, the spirit of those men has swept across the globe, becoming the beacon by which the dreams of a hundred nations navigate.
While others have lived through revolutions, coups, and tyrannies, our nation has continued. We have withstood disasters, upheavals, and even civil war. And still we continue.
I stand before you today able to express my deepest gratitude to those brave men and women who defied history and tyranny to create this proud nation. And I am deeply grateful not only for those who support my vision for this nation, but for the protections that allow people to speak out against me. It is those voices which keep me honest. And somewhere between their passion and my own is the reality of our world. And I am truly thankful that neither of us has the power to enforce our will upon the world.
Imported from the Buzz